Spring is a great chance to make snapping fresh green vegetables, like asparagus and broad beans, the hero of a meal. As the weather warms up it’s also a great time to get out in the veggie garden to do some planting.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1kg broad beans in pods, deshelled
500g asparagus, washed
1tsp salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
40g butter + 60 g butter, extra
500g arborio rice
120ml verjuice or vegetable stock
1.25L chicken stock
150g sliced pancetta diced
80g grated parmesan
small bunch parsley, finely chopped
freshly ground pepper
What to do
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add the salt, beans and asparagus and blanch for 2–3 minutes. Drain.
Remove the second skin from the broad beans by piercing the skin and lightly squeezing out the inner bean.
Heat a large frying pan and add the olive oil and 40 g of butter. Warm until the butter has melted, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes.
Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil mixture. Cook the rice by stirring over heat for 1–2 minutes until the grains are slightly toasted.
Add the verjuice or stock and stir through until absorbed. Continue by adding the chicken stock a ladleful at a time, ensuring the rice has absorbed the liquid before adding another ladleful. Remember to continue stirring the rice gently.
After 10 minutes, stir in the pancetta, then after a further 3 minutes stir through the broad beans and asparagus. The rice should be al dente after 18–20 minutes of cooking.
Remove the risotto from the heat and add the extra butter, parmesan and parsley, stirring through gently. Serve with a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
